How to deal with Acute Mountain Sickness

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Mountain climbing is an addiction that is hard to resist. The deeper you fall for mountains the higher you rise in life. The best views come after harder climbs. But what if you fall much before reaching the summit? What if you are doing the dream trek of your life and your body gives up midway to Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS)? Would you turn back or continue doing the Everest Base Camp Trek despite the illness? Here’s everything you need to know about Acute Mountain Sickness: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention.

What is Acute Mountain Sickness

Acute mountain Sickness, also known as altitude sickness or high altitude pulmonary edema, typically occurs at about 8,000 feet, or 2,400 meters, above sea level. The common symptoms are dizziness, nausea, headache, loss of appetite and breathlessness. Most often the altitude sickness cases are mild and heal quickly. In few cases, altitude sickness can become lethal.

Causes of Acute Mountain Sickness

As you gain height with higher altitudes, the oxygen levels and air pressure decreases. When you drive or hike up a mountain, or go skiing from a lower altitude to a higher altitude at a fast pace, your body may not have enough time to adjust. This can result in acute mountain sickness. Exertion also adds up to the woes.

Symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness

The symptoms generally appear within hours of moving to higher altitudes and vary depending on the severity of your condition.

Mild Acute Mountain Sickness Symptoms:

Dizziness, nausea, and vomiting

A headache, body ache and muscle aches

Insomnia and irritability

Loss of appetite and weakness

Rapid heartbeat and breathlessness

Physical exertion

Swelling of the hands, feet, and face

Severe Acute Mountain Sickness Symptoms:

Continuous coughing and chest congestion

Severe breathlessness

Pale complexion and skin discoloration

Inability to walk, lack of balance, or disorientation

A severe headache, altered vision

Hallucinations, seizures, and coma

Social withdrawal

Treatment of Acute Mountain Sickness

EBC Trek: From Pheriche to Lobuche

Acute Mountain Sickness treatment varies depending on its severity. You might be able to avoid complications by simply returning to a lower altitude. If severe symptoms persist, you might require oxygen or hospitalization. Here is what you should do:

1. Descend to Lower Altitude

For mild acute mountain sickness, you can stay at your existing altitude to see if your body adjusts. If symptoms don’t improve within 24-48 hours or if they get worse, you should descend to a lower altitude and seek immediate medical assistance.

Even if symptoms are mild, you should not gain altitude until there are no AMS symptoms.

For severe symptoms, you should immediately descend 1,500 to 2,000 feet with as little exertion as possible. Descend until you show no more AMS symptoms. Take medical aid right away as waiting could be lethal.

2. Treat Symptoms

Drink plenty of liquids

Keep yourself warm and take rest

Take blood pressure medicine

Use lung inhalers

Have Diamox (Acetazolamide) for breathing problems

Take disprin (Aspirin) or ibuprofen for headache relief

3. Consult a Doctor

If mild symptoms persist after the descent, call a health care provider.

For severe symptoms, see a doctor as soon as possible

Prevention of Acute Mountain Sickness

While it is beyond one to predict whether they’ll get AMS or not, you can take some important precautions to reduce your chances of Acute Mountain Sickness.

Remain fit

Build stamina and do lung exercises for months in advance before the trek

Get medical check-up done

Ensure you have no serious health issues

Be aware

Review the symptoms of mountain sickness so you can recognize and treat them quickly if they occur.

Go prepared

Carry Diamox to adjust your body to high altitudes.

Stay hydrated

Drink Plenty of water and liquids like green tea/lemon tea

Eat Well

Consume foods high in carbohydrates. Carry dry fruits and nuts

Carry chocolates

Cocoa relieves altitude sickness

Avoid

Do not smoke and avoid drinking alcohol

Acclimatize

In my 12 days Everest Base Camp trek, I had two days to rest and acclimatize to altitude, but if you are not in a hurry, why not do a 16-day trek and go at a leisurely pace?

Book with a reliable Trekking company

A company whose staff is knowledgeable, well-connected and customer service oriented. Explore Himalaya was great in this department because they not only had a professional setup but also own Everest Inn Lodges and Helicopter service. But I am no way recommending them; there are a lot of good companies (of course I think mine is the best), but just try to establish a rapport early to be sure they got your back when you need them.

Take rescue insurance

When doing a high altitude trek, you should ALWAYS take Rescue Insurance, which includes air ambulance as well as helicopter evacuation. If the AMS gets serious then there is no option but to airlift, which costs more than US$ 2500 for a helicopter evacuation from 4000m near Mt. Everest and up to US$ 5000 for a rescue in the far west. My friend did not take rescue insurance and ended up spending USD$ 8000 on his EBC trek. Read the entire story here.

Mint Lemon Green Tea, Everest Base Camp Trek, Nepal

Acute Mountain Sickness is a serious thing. Don’t think twice before turning back. Your life is far more precious than climbing a mountain. You can always trek again but you only get one life. Have you ever faced Acute Mountain Sickness? How did you cope up with it?

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24 Comments

Wow. Such a detailed list. I’m serious, you’d pass for a travelers’ doctor. My doctor would not have said as much as you’ve written, thank you for this post. It’s sure a blessing for my future tours, trekking and non trekking. But I’m not sure I’d be able to commit to trekking to Mt Everest. I still hold you high for the feat you achieved; I read your post detailing your Everest Trek

I love that you suggest carrying chocolate. It reminded me of the Harry Potter books! I live at about 5,000 feet above sea level, and whenever I have visitors from Florida or California, they usually have a hard time adjusting. Granted, it’s not Everest-level-sickness, but still, it’s a legit thing. I usually have to stock up on water bottles whenever I have visitors. It’s one of the easiest things to hopefully help!

I haven’t been trekking at high altitudes so I don’t know if I’ll ever experience acute mountain sickness. I think it’s something a lot of travelers don’t take seriously, something that could have serious health-related consequences. Your post is very helpful in recommending ways to treat, minimize, and prevent it. Also, I had no idea cocoa/chocolate helps!

I have saved your infographic – very helpful! I don’t think I’ll ever be trekking at those extreme high altitudes, but I do hike high altitudes in the Rockies and exhibit some mild symptoms, especially the tight chest. Now I have a reason to carry chocolate! Ha!

I have never trekked at such high altitudes. Most of my treks are actually hikes confined to hills or mountains/volcanoes in South East Asia that offer jungle trails. I love the way you have outlined the important points, a header at a time.

That infographic is so useful! It is a great way to learn all the practical details about the challenges of mountain climbing. It just makes you appreciate mountain climbers some more. It is no easy feat!

That post is just super useful. I love hiking, and whenever I can I go to the mountains. In this case, the Alps are the closest. But I haven’t been mountain sick yet. I will keep this post for the future when I climb higher peaks.

I did receive acute mountain sickness the first time I went over 4000 meters in the Atacama desert. Fortunately I was in a bus which was just passing over a high pass in the road. Later it descended but I had a headache and my head was spinning. For some reason I desperately needed the toilet as well which was unusual. I agree with your point 100% about descending! Later that trip I managed to reach over 5000 meters and was OK but a lot of others in the group were vomiting etc…

These are some excellent tips here. I’m sure I would suffer from AMS, so would be taking your advice. Building up lung strength and general fitness is a must to do something like this. I’m glad to see ‘carry chocolates’ is on this list, I’ll do that!

This a great post to help with AMS and i love the visuals you provided at the end too. AMS can really ruin the experience and I got a fair share of the warning before I went to Machu Picchu. I heard cocoa leaves are definitely the best cure, but if it gets serious you’ll need help. i like the tips you gave for before embarking on a journey like this

Mountain sickness is a bitch. I’ve only suffered from mild one but it was an absolutely horrible experience. Hadn’t spent enough time to get adjusted to the altitude in Guatemala before peaking a volcano and let’s just say that going from sea level to hiking to 3.7km peak wasn’t the best idea. Decided to keep going as my symptoms weren’t severe and I couldn’t have made it down from the volcano before it got dark but if I had been closer to the ground level when I got the symptoms I may have as well just turned back.

This is such a great list about the consequences and cures for altitude sickness. It would be a horrible way to ruin a perfectly good trek. And just goes to show the importance of preparation and giving yourself enough time to acclimatize, not just before the climb but along the way too as you climb higher.

That’s a very useful post! Everest Base Camp trek is very much in my wishlist! But yeah, I was worried about altitude sickness! Though I’ve done a few treks and hikes, EBC is all together a challenging terrain in a cold climate. Thanks for this informative post.

Thanks for highlighting the importance of preventing Mountain Sickness. A lot of climbers take this for granted and surely you shared very helpful information here. I’m also aiming to visit Everest Base Camp one day. I’m so jealous! 😀

I would hate to go to Everest and then suffer from AMS. I would be SO bummed! I remember that we got drilled over and over when visiting Machu Picchu. I made sure that I carried lots of coca leaves. Luckily, I never had issues while there. Thank you for such a detailed and informative post. I will definitely come back when I head to my next high altitude trek.

AMS is a serious condition but I see a lot of people taking it for granted. They choose to ignore which is why some of them suffer seriously at the end. Your post is really informative and you have given some great tips to identify AMS. Loved it!

Cocoa indeed prevents it! Our hotel in Bolivia gave us a full pack of cocoa leaves to chew as the tradition! We would love to do the base camp, it is so high in our wishlist! This is super useful for any high altitude treks, thanks.

Cocoa indeed prevents it! Our hotel in Bolivia gave us a full pack of cocoa leaves to chew as the tradition! We would love to do the base camp, it is so high in our wish-list! This is super useful for any high altitude treks, thanks.

I’m not a big hiker but I find your infographic so helpful and easy on the eyes! I have to say that my favorite tip is bringing chocolates. 🙂 These tips are really useful, because you never know what could happen, right? It’s always best to be prepared!

Excellent article! A couple who did the Everest Base Camp trek told us that chewing on green chillies really helps. Has anyone done this? Many causal trekkers just ignore the symptoms or are unprepared or just ignorant of the easy remedies. I have personally experienced that the key is staying hydrated and using aspirin.